Performing a Proper Inspection of Tractor and Trailer Wheels and Tires

If you’re trying to qualify for a commercial driver’s license, it’s not enough to know how to drive a truck, you also need to know the ins and outs of maintenance and safety. It doesn’t matter if you’re the parking god and can back up on a closed dock with your eyes closed, if you don’t know how to inspect the trailer and make sure the brake system works, the steering and suspension are in order. order, the coupling is solid and so on, you are inviting disaster and can be a hazard to yourself and other vehicles. As the driver of a tall, heavy vehicle making wide turns, you are responsible for public safety and should not risk lax inspection routines.

Tire and wheel inspections are absolutely crucial to keeping you and the drivers around you safe. In this article, we outline the essentials of a proper wheel and tire inspection. Please note that these are just the basics.

Truck tires should be inspected before, during and after a trip.

In recent years, with the profusion of dash cams, YouTube has seen a plethora of crash videos that could serve as an encyclopedia of bad driving. Some of the scariest incidents involve truck wheels coming off and hurtling onto a highway, smashing passenger vehicles. An old, poorly inflated or secured tire can burst or loosen and wreak havoc; Proper basic wheel maintenance involves making sure the lug nuts are not rusted or loose; studs and bolt holes have not stretched to an oval shape; hub grease is not leaking or low.

When inspecting the tires, make sure the treads are not worn and no ply or cap cords are showing. Any crack, split, or cut that reveals the plies is a structural integrity issue and means the tire should be replaced. Watch for air leaks and weird bulges – if the tire isn’t blown, this could mean a blowout is imminent. Next, inspect the tire valves; if they are damaged or bent, or if the caps are missing, it can be a potential vulnerability.

Check the tire tread depth for wear. The Department of Transportation has a legal lower tread depth limit of 4/32 inches for steer tires and 2/32 inches for trailer and drive tires. When a tire’s main groove becomes shallower than this depth, it should be removed from service. Note that if your steer tires are worn to less than 4/32 inch, you can still use them by turning them towards the trailer or drive axle. Eighteen-wheeler tires can cost thousands of dollars, so instead of being thrown away, worn tires can be retreaded and reused. Trucking practice has found that tires that have worn to 2/32 inch or less are less suitable for retreading, because there is not much rubber left to protect the carcass and ply; for this reason, many companies recall and retread tires when they are in the 6-8/32-inch range.

Some tires claim to be “restriable”, meaning that the manufacturer has made it possible to carve the rubber into the grooves to make them deeper. The DOT requires that tires with rubber thick enough to be regroove be marked as such; however, many trucking experts do not endorse or approve of this practice. This is because retreading greatly reduces the chance of a tire being successfully retreaded.

Lastly, when inspecting the wheels, make sure the dual tires are not touching or rubbing against each other or the truck. Make sure all tires are the same size and design; do not mix radial and bias ply tires on the same axle.

As part of your CDL test, you will need to demonstrate a proficient understanding of truck maintenance and inspections. Learn everything and don’t take shortcuts: It’s not just your driver’s certification at stake, but your safety and the safety of those you share the road with.